Hisense USA used a humorous virtual press conference Wednesday to introduce its 2021 ULED LED-LCD TV lineup, highlighted by the company’s first 8K TV and 4K XD Dual Cell TV for the U.S. market.
Actor/comedian Joel McHale was the guest host of the presentation, which was scripted to take the emphasis off of the tech jargon to play up the entertainment benefits of the 2021 TV line.
Fortunately or otherwise, the products have all the tech jargon and ample feature packages to satisfy us geeks just the same.
In all, the company introduced five premium ULED model series including the U6G, U7G, U8G, U800GR (8K TV) and U9DG (4K Dual Cell) LED-LCD TV series. It also revealed some value priced Roku TVs, Android TVs and VIDAA-based TVs.
All five ULED TV series Ultra HD TVs (either 4K or 8K) include Quantum Dot color enhancement film for P3 wide color gamut coverage. The also provide advanced video processing and resolution upscaling to fit the native resolution of each model with minimal artifacts and enhanced detail. The list begins below:
U9DG
The U9DG series is Hisense’s 2021 flagship series, which actually comes in one 75-inch screen size. The TV offers 4K (not 8K) UHD resolution, but features the company’s first- of its kind in the-U.S. Dual Cell technology.
Hisense has shown prototypes of Dual Cell for the past several physical CES’s and it’s sort of the company’s answer to both OLED and miniLED technology emerging from rivals like TCL and Samsung. Dual Cell, like it’s name implies, is comprised of two open LCD cells bonded together. One cell is a monochrome base under a full color quantum dot filter enhanced LCD cell. The monochrome panel controls the luminance (backlight) level to more effectively black out light in dark sections of a picture for deeper blacks with greater shadow detail.
The Hisense 75U9DG will hit shelves this summer at a cool $3,500, for which it offers the equivalent of 2 million local dimming zones capable of what Hisense said is a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 1000 nits of peak brightness.
The series is based on the Android TV OS but not with the new Google TV interface. Still, this implementation features support for integrated Google Assistant voice control as well as support for works with Amazon Alexa devices. It also supports Dolby Atmos surround sound, HDR10, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR 10+ and HLG HDR profiles, IMAX Enhanced picture, sound and content support, Filmmaker Mode, support for variable refresh rate (VRR) and FreeSync gaming features, eARC, a 120 Hz native refresh rate panel, HDMI 2.1 ports and WiSA wireless speaker connectivity.
U800GR Series
For those looking to go higher resolution, Hisense is adding its first 8K series in the 75-inch Hisense 75U800GR, which will carry a $3,200 suggested retail price when it ships this summer. This model is another quantum dot set using the popular Roku TV OS platform that offers thousands of apps and movie selections. This is a more traditional full-array LED LCD TV with 180 local dimming zones, a 120Hz native refresh rate panel with “480 Motion Rate” motion artifact reduction enhancement, 1000 nits of peak brightness, support for Dolby Atmos 3D surround sound, HDR10, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HLG HDR profiles, and Apple AirPlay 2.
See What Your 4K UHD TV Can Really Do With The Spears & Munsil 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc, $39.95.
Amazon’s Best Selling 4K Ultra HDTVs
Amazon’s Camera, Photo & Video Deals
Amazon Fire TV Cube Media Adapter with Alexa
Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker with Alexa Voice Control
Amazon Echo Show 8 Alexa Voice Controlled Smart Screen
Amazon Echo Dot with Clock Voice Controlled Speaker
Amazon Echo Studio 3D Audio Alexia Smart Speaker
Best Selling Soundbars and 5.1 Surround Systems
U8G Series
The U8G is a somewhat more affordable 4K Ultra HD full-array LED LCD TV lineup with 360 local dimming zones and advanced gaming optimization. It supports HDR10, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ and HLG HDR profiles in addition to IMAX Enhanced, Filmmaker Mode, Dolby Atmos, Game Mode Pro, HDMI 2.1/eARC/ALLM/VRR/FreeSync Premium gaming support and is WiSA wireless speaker connectivity compliant. This series features the Android TV OS with integrated Google Assistant support and works with Alexa devices. This series offers two screen-size options, a 55-inch shipping this month at $950 and 65-inch for $1,300.
U7G Series
The new U7G series is another gamer-focused model series offering the Hisense Game Mode Pro and HDMI 2.1 support with ALLM/VRR/FreeSync Premium. It has a suite of features that includes automatic low-latency mode, FreeSync Premium, and variable refresh rate support for reduced input lag. It’s running Android TV, and will be available in “summer 2021” in three sizes: 55- ($750), 65- ($949), and 75-inch ($1,400).
U6G Series
The U6G series is the entry position in the ULED assortment. It steps down to a 60Hz native refresh rate panel and full-array backlighting with 60-zones of local dimming, for 600 nits of peak brightness. Other features include the Android TV OS with Google Assistant voice control and Chromecast, quantum dot color enhancement, Dolby Atmos surround sound, support for HDR10/Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HLG HDR profiles and auto low latency mode (ALLM) for gamers. The U6G will be available in the 50-, 55-, 65-, and 75-inch screen sizes for retail prices of $500, $550, $750, and $1,100, respectively..
Below the ULED assortment, the Hisense TV lineup also features a step-down A6 Android TV series, R6 and R7 Roku TV series, and a U5 series based on Hisense’s own VIDAA smart TV OS.
The A6 Series is available now in the 43-ich ($300), 50-inch ($380), 55-inch ($430), 65-inch ($600) and 75-inch ($850) screen sizes.
The R6 Series Roku TVs will ship this fall in the 43-inch ($400), 50-inch ($500), 55-inch ($600), 65-inch ($800) and 75-inch ($1,100) screen sizes.
The R7 Series will be available this fall in the 43-inch ($430), 50-inch ($530), 55-inch ($630) and 65-inch ($830) screen sizes.
To support all of these sets, Hisense also announced three new soundbars for 2021 in 120 watt, 320 watt, and 300 watt performance packages. Common features include Bluetooth and multiple sound modes.
The soundbars are due to ship this spring and include the HS212F (120 watts) for $200, the HS219 (320 watts) for $280, and the HS312 (300 watts) for $400. The latter series includes Dolby Atmos support.
These will join the previously announced L5 Laser Cinema Ultra Short Throw projection TV system with a 120-inch screen, available now as a package for $5,000.
Online purchases made using links provided on this site might generate a small commission for HD Guru.com. We thank you for your support!
By Greg Tarr
Have a question for the HD Guru? HD GURU|Email
Copyright ©2021 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HD GURU is a registered trademark.
Stay connected